Total knee implants have been around for many years. Over the years, various instruments have been developed for preparing the distal femur and the proximal tibia for receipt of knee implants. Performance of a knee replacement surgery typically includes modification of one, or both, of the proximal end of the tibia and the distal end of the femur to have a shape that accommodates the tibial and femoral components, respectively, of the knee prosthesis. Modification typically involves some type of cutting procedure, e.g., with a bone saw, to prepare planar surfaces on the femur for attachment of the femoral component. An effective attachment of the femoral component to the femur is facilitated by cutting the femur at appropriate depths and angles that match the dimensions and angles of the attachment (i.e., non-articulating) surfaces on the underside of the femoral component. The femur, due to its complex geometry (e.g., lateral and medial condyles and intracondylar notch) can be particularly difficult to shape and therefore benefits greatly from accurate cuts. In addition, proper sizing of the components is important to ensure that the knee prosthesis has adequate stability and range of motion. To this end, various calipers and resection guides have been developed that measure the tibia and femur to determine appropriate sizes for the femoral and tibial components. Examples of instruments and methods are found in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,177, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0209600A1, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0241634A1, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Despite the effectiveness of knee replacement systems, additional. improvements in systems and methods for preparing the distal femur for attachment of a femoral component are always desirable.